A couple of weeks ago I posted about Mila, the French lesbian high school student who caused a commotion by saying vulgar and insulting things about Allah on social media. She was forced to withdraw from school for the sake of her safety.
After a week or so of media hoopla, Mila eventually agreed to appear on TV to give an account of what happened. Many thanks to MissPiggy for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:
Video transcript:
| 00:00 | It started out as a video posted by a teenage girl on Instagram | |
| 00:03 | on a Saturday, and then it became the “Mila Affair”. | |
| 00:06 | Saturday, January 18th: the young woman, who is 16 years old, | |
| 00:09 | posted an Instagram story in which she was verbally violent | |
| 00:12 | against Islam. Since then, there has been a wave of hatred against her on the internet. | |
| 00:16 | Insults, threats of rape, death threats and the Delegate General of the French council | |
| 00:20 | of the Muslim faith thinks she had it coming. “I say this girl, she knows what she said; | |
| 00:25 | she needs to take responsibility, and well, now, listen, she has to | |
| 00:28 | own the consequences of what she said.” The Mila Affair is a freedom of expression case. | |
| 00:32 | The Mila Affair is a case of the right to blaspheme. | |
| 00:36 | In France, the Minister of Justice is the one who is supposed to be | |
| 00:40 | the guarantor of this, but (she said): “Insulting religion | |
| 00:44 | is obviously an attack on freedom of conscience. It’s serious.” | |
| 00:48 | A few hours later, Nicole Belloubet tries to make up for it: | |
| 00:51 | “I readily admit that what I expressed may have been clumsy | |
| 00:54 | or stony. Obviously, I didn’t want to question | |
| 00:58 | the right to criticize religion. —And the next day she apologizes: | |
| 01:02 | I didn’t have to say that, that’s for sure. —So much for that. On Thursday, in Angouleme, | |
| 01:05 | when asked about freedom of expression, the head of state replied: | |
| 01:08 | We are a country where there is freedom of expression, | |
| 01:11 | the right to caricature and to blaspheme. —The Mila case isn’t only political; | |
| 01:15 | it is a political issue for the whole society. | |
| 01:18 | Some intellectuals don’t understand why Mila isn’t being defended more. | |
| 01:21 | “We will pay dearly for this cowardice,” | |
| 01:24 | wrote Elisabeth Badinter, one of the great voices at The Express. Alain Finkielkraut hesitated | |
| 01:28 | to sign a tribute: —I did not sign this text because of Mila’s remarks. | |
| 01:33 | Of course, she must be defended, but by saying | |
| 01:38 | “Your god, I put my fingers up his a**” — it seems to me that | |
| 01:43 | this does not fall under what is called freedom of expression. | |
| 01:48 | The editorial from Charlie Hebdo writes: “Mila was insulted | |
| 01:52 | by the dumbest first, then threatened by the most fanatical, | |
| 01:55 | and finally abandoned by the most cowardly.” —And the philosopher Raphael Enthoven notes that: | |
| 02:01 | “No human rights association protested or expressed solidarity with those lives that were suddenly | |
| 02:06 | forced to go underground.” —It’s clear that the silence of the Left | |
| 02:10 | is what’s being questioned here, and it’s true that | |
| 02:13 | at first they were not heard at all, since it was the extreme right that immediately defended Mila. | |
| 02:19 | The words of this young girl are an oral version of the cartoons | |
| 02:22 | of Charlie (Hebdo). No more and no less. —Support Mila against | |
| 02:25 | the public prosecutor’s office which has just opened an investigation against her | |
| 02:28 | because she dared to criticize Islam. —Several members of the government ended up defending her. | |
| 02:32 | —I was obviously very shocked, like everyone else and I supported her. —Our thoughts are with | |
| 02:38 | the young woman Mila, who was on the social media networks, which I’ll get back to, | |
| 02:42 | but she expressed an opinion and received a wave of hatred against her. | |
| 02:47 | And today, the Minister of Education, who vouches | |
| 02:51 | for her future. —She’s in a very special situation, | |
| 02:55 | which we condemn very strongly and therefore we are helping her. | |
| 02:59 | However, we’re helping her with a degree of discretion. | |
| 03:02 | The aim is to get her back to school peacefully. | |
| 03:05 | We owe her maximum protection. —On social media networks the hashtags “I’m Mila” and “I’m not Mila” | |
| 03:12 | were competing. Ségolène Royal used the hashtag “I’m not Mila”. | |
| 03:16 | You used the hashtags “I’m not Mila”, didn’t you? | |
| 03:19 | Absolutely, absolutely not. Let’s get back to the serious stuff. | |
| 03:22 | This teenager, who may still be suffering from | |
| 03:25 | a teenage crisis — imagine if she said the same thing about her teacher, | |
| 03:28 | about her parents, about her neighbors or | |
| 03:31 | about her best friend. What would we say? | |
| 03:34 | We’d ask her to show a little respect, and certainly not erect | |
| 03:37 | a disrespectful teenage girl as the paragon of freedom of expression. | |
| 03:41 | Certainly not. —Following the Mila Affair, | |
| 03:45 | we now have Mila here with us, and she’s speaking for the first time. —Good evening and thank you. | |
| 03:48 | Welcome to the set of Quotidien. How are you? —I’m fine. | |
| 03:51 | You’ve agreed to speak. This will be the only interview | |
| 03:54 | you’ve made in the media the past two weeks. Mila is being talked about everywhere. | |
| 03:57 | We’ve seen her, but we don’t know who you are? Where are you from? | |
| 04:03 | So, I’m from Lyon. I’m 16 years old. I’m mainly passionate | |
| 04:09 | about music, and I don’t have much to say about myself. I’m a teenager… | |
| 04:13 | What grade are you in? —I’m in tenth grade. | |
| 04:16 | All right. You wished to speak publicly with your parents’ consent | |
| 04:20 | while you’re being harassed and threatened | |
| 04:24 | with rape and death. Why? —So, I thought, I really need | |
| 04:30 | to tell my side of the story, to speak out about this, | |
| 04:35 | even if it’s just once, it’s my choice. And I also wanted | |
| 04:41 | to show a different side of the girl that everyone saw | |
| 04:47 | in that video, that went viral and with her face uncovered. | |
| 04:52 | Since I’ve always been a bit of a public figure | |
| 04:56 | on social networks and so there are already a lot of people | |
| 04:59 | who know my face and the video has been circulating | |
| 05:02 | a lot, but I don’t need to tell you that. | |
| 05:05 | It was shown on TV blurred out, but on social networks it was uncensored. | |
| 05:08 | That’s right. And I thought it wouldn’t hurt me more | |
| 05:11 | to be on TV, and I don’t have to hide, because I know | |
| 05:14 | I didn’t do anything wrong. —So the intention is | |
| 05:17 | to try to understand what happened and why things got out of hand. | |
| 05:20 | A decision I hope will bring down the tension. On Saturday 18th January | |
| 05:24 | you made a video. You had an exchange | |
| 05:28 | with your followers. What did you talk about? | |
| 05:31 | I was doing a live show where I was doing makeup and… | |
| 05:35 | By “live”, you mean, you’re live on Instagram. —That’s right. | |
| 05:39 | I was live on Instagram doing — I was doing makeup, | |
| 05:42 | and I had a new hair color and I was happy to share that with my subscribers in this live video. | |
| 05:46 | How many people were watching? —In my live feeds there are usually between, | |
| 05:51 | between 10 and 30 people. —So there are 30 people | |
| 05:55 | watching you? —That’s right. A maximum of 30 people. And how did things got out of hand? | |
| 05:58 | But especially, how did you ended up talking about religion? | |
| 06:02 | So, basically, there was a boy who hit on me a little too much during | |
| 06:06 | the live stream. —That means someone sent you messages? | |
| 06:10 | Yes, in the chat feed the words I remember were: | |
| 06:13 | You’re beautiful, you’re hot, how old are you? So I didn’t hesitate to | |
| 06:16 | put that person in his place, because it’s not | |
| 06:19 | the first time it has happened to me. It pissed me off. Then I continued | |
| 06:24 | to talk to my subscribers. There was a girl, | |
| 06:28 | a subscriber, who asked me about my sexual orientation. | |
| 06:34 | So I told her I was a lesbian and she asks me what I thought about — | |
| 06:42 | I don’t know anymore. —Go ahead. Don’t worry, we have time. She’s asking you what? —She asked me | |
| 06:49 | what was my preference in girls was, mainly, and she told me that for her, | |
| 06:53 | personally, she preferred girls, well, she didn’t | |
| 06:56 | particularly like (?) and black people. I then said it was the same | |
| 07:00 | for me, that it wasn’t particularly my style. | |
| 07:03 | This boy who hit on me at the beginning started insulting me | |
| 07:07 | as a dirty lesbian whore, a dirty racist whore, and so on, | |
| 07:11 | and he insulted me a lot in the name of Allah. | |
| 07:14 | And that’s when he also… —You’re still live right? —Yes, we were | |
| 07:18 | still live, and the subject turned to religion. Then this person | |
| 07:22 | kept insulting me, but it made me laugh at first. And then | |
| 07:26 | I stopped the live stream. That’s it. —Then you created a story? | |
| 07:30 | And in that story, the video you made where | |
| 07:33 | you use rude and insulting words. Why did you use those words? | |
| 07:36 | I would like to point out that before the story, | |
| 07:39 | after I stopped the live stream, I received a lot of insulting | |
| 07:42 | and very threatening messages. I had received | |
| 07:45 | messages from four or five people, but they were really aggressive people | |
| 07:49 | who harassed me terribly. They sent | |
| 07:52 | something like thirty or almost a hundred messages | |
| 07:56 | per person, and it really revolted me to see that. | |
| 07:59 | That’s when I decided to make this story. | |
| 08:03 | And you used some harsh words, insulting to a religion. —That’s right. | |
| 08:08 | Do you regret those words? —There are two things I regret about this story. | |
| 08:12 | First, that I said it on the social networks, because | |
| 08:15 | I didn’t realize how big it could get, and the other is that I said it in such a vulgar way, | |
| 08:18 | because I could have used better arguments… —You regret the vulgarity? | |
| 08:21 | I regret the vulgarity, that’s it. —Would you have said those words | |
| 08:26 | about another religion? —Of course. I could have said that | |
| 08:29 | about another religion but… —How long have you | |
| 08:32 | been an atheist? —I’ve always been an atheist. | |
| 08:36 | The law says a very simple thing: You have the right to insult | |
| 08:40 | a religion, but not citizens because of their religious affiliation, | |
| 08:43 | and you say in the video that you can’t be racist towards a religion. | |
| 08:46 | Is this something you’ve already thought about? —Yes, it is. —Specifically about that? | |
| 08:50 | Of course, I’ve always been able to differentiate between a religion and people. | |
| 08:54 | So people who are not able to make that difference are stupid. | |
| 08:58 | The video triggered a torrent of insults, calls for lynching, | |
| 09:02 | threats of rape and death. Hatred poured down on you. | |
| 09:06 | When did it start and how did you react? On that Saturday the 18th… | |
| 09:10 | It started from the moment I posted this video. | |
| 09:14 | It had already started before then, but from the moment I posted the video, | |
| 09:17 | it took off; it was republished by major accounts | |
| 09:20 | on social networks, and it was a difficult time. Of course. | |
| 09:24 | But there were more than 30 subscribers. —Ah yes, but no, I have thousands | |
| 09:29 | of subscribers but there weren’t very many views on my live stream. —What about the story? | |
| 09:33 | The story had a hundred thousand views. —That’s huge. | |
| 09:38 | That’s huge, yes, but especially on the social networks, it had several million views | |
| 09:43 | because it was reposted very quickly on other accounts. —And their hate messages, | |
| 09:47 | when did you see them and what do you feel when you saw them? —I saw them from the beginning. | |
| 09:54 | I mean from the beginning, as soon as I posted this video, | |
| 09:59 | and I felt really disgusted, and disgusted with these people. | |
| 10:05 | I wondered how people could have so much hatred, | |
| 10:08 | and how they could say such things. It’s really so bad. | |
| 10:12 | We’ll continue talking to you, Mila, when we return to Quotidien. | |
| 10:21 | ||
| 10:29 | Thank you for returning to Quotidien. | |
| 10:34 | Behind the Mila Affair and the social networking craziness there is Mila. She is 16 years old | |
| 10:38 | and with us at Quotidien. —You were investigated for incitement to racial hatred, | |
| 10:42 | which was dismissed, but there is another investigation open | |
| 10:45 | involving the people who harassed you. Are the police taking things seriously? | |
| 10:48 | The police are taking it very seriously. | |
| 10:51 | The investigations are ongoing and that’s it. | |
| 10:55 | What has your life been like since January 18th? —My life is clearly | |
| 11:00 | on pause. That means, my social life, my social networks, my schooling. | |
| 11:05 | You’re out of school, aren’t you? —Yes. | |
| 11:11 | Who decided to take you out of school? The police? The school? | |
| 11:15 | Myself, my parents, my school, we all made that | |
| 11:19 | decision together. —The reason? —Well, I’m not safe at my school. | |
| 11:25 | I mean, if I went back, I received threats from people | |
| 11:30 | at my school. I could be burned with acid. I could be beaten up. | |
| 11:35 | I was threatened with being stripped naked in public. | |
| 11:39 | I was threatened with being buried alive. It was extreme. | |
| 11:42 | Well, so I wasn’t safe. I was forced to drop out of school. | |
| 11:45 | And so you’ve been staying home since January 18th. | |
| 11:49 | That’s right, but I can’t say much more about that. | |
| 11:52 | For more than two weeks now the Mila affair has been talked about everywhere, morning, | |
| 11:56 | noon and night. How did you experience it? —Pardon? —Did you read or watch on TV | |
| 12:01 | everything that was said about the Mila case? | |
| 12:04 | Of course, I followed it very closely. I followed it very closely. | |
| 12:08 | Especially the politicians who gave their opinion, | |
| 12:11 | or others who have supported me and everything that has been said | |
| 12:15 | in the media. I’ve followed a lot of that. | |
| 12:18 | And I would like to thank all the people who support me. | |
| 12:21 | Have some of them have contacted you? —Who? | |
| 12:24 | Politicians? —Yes, there are certain politicians | |
| 12:27 | who have contacted me and the media as well. Enormously. | |
| 12:30 | Can I ask you which politicians, a female politician? | |
| 12:33 | I can’t really answer that question. —You wrote a song, | |
| 12:36 | can we listen to a sample of it? —You’ve written a song? | |
| 12:39 | Of course. “I’m frightened by million of eyes that observe me | |
| 12:42 | through the news and media. That’s not what I wanted, no, | |
| 12:47 | not in this context. I dreamed of shining on stage, | |
| 12:51 | I didn’t want this war; this story reminds me that | |
| 12:54 | a dream remains a dream. Even though they intimidate me, | |
| 12:57 | they can’t defeat me. Tell them they can try to win, | |
| 13:01 | they will not be able to take what I have in my head. | |
| 13:05 | The passion of my whole life ended in dust will nevertheless | |
| 13:09 | remain rooted in me. For a few absurd words they have | |
| 13:13 | destroyed my life and my dreams. So this broken voice | |
| 13:19 | sings one last time. Because of blasphemy I will never live | |
| 13:25 | like before. To be honest, I don’t even know if I’ll live much longer. Much longer. | |
| 13:34 | These insults and threats by the thousands. | |
| 13:37 | Don’t really reach me. —When did you write it? That song? | |
| 13:41 | I wrote it on January 24th. That’s right. I really wrote it | |
| 13:47 | on a whim and I recorded it quickly and I really wanted | |
| 13:53 | to express what I felt through music, because I was often told | |
| 13:57 | that I should stop singing or that I had to stop making music, | |
| 14:02 | but I thought to myself, no, because the best way to express myself | |
| 14:06 | is through my passion. It really makes me feel better. | |
| 14:10 | And that’s what you did. As mentioned previously, the hashtags, | |
| 14:13 | “I’m Mila” and “I’m not Mila” were trending. | |
| 14:16 | How do you respond to those who say they are not Mila and aren’t violent either? | |
| 14:21 | Those who are just hurt by what you said? | |
| 14:24 | Well, I have absolutely nothing against people who are not Mila | |
| 14:28 | and non-violent, because they have every right. | |
| 14:32 | And it is precisely these people who prove that it’s not necessary | |
| 14:37 | to respond in a way, as I said earlier, these people | |
| 14:42 | can be against me, without being violent and hateful. | |
| 14:47 | They can react in their own way, by arguing, it’s their right | |
| 14:53 | to say this has hurt them, but there it is, it proves… | |
| 14:59 | You hear what they’re saying. —It proves that they don’t have to say | |
| 15:03 | they’ll cut me into pieces, set me on fire or kill me. | |
| 15:06 | So, there are people who can react very well and that’s a good example. Let me repeat, | |
| 15:13 | these people have the right to be against me. —Wouldn’t you say that you’re too young | |
| 15:16 | to go through all this? —Well, even if… —What do you regret? —I find it hard to believe | |
| 15:22 | I’m in this situation and I would never have thought things could get this big, | |
| 15:28 | especially at my age, it’s still something. —Especially from a video that was made | |
| 15:32 | in your room on Saturday afternoon. —That’s right, I never thought | |
| 15:36 | it could get this big. —Are you going to continue | |
| 15:40 | to be present on social networks? —No, I’ve clearly stopped social networking, | |
| 15:44 | but there have been many fake accounts from people impersonating me. | |
| 15:48 | There are also fake fund-raising accounts for me as well. | |
| 15:51 | Fundraising? —Fundraising. That’s it. —So, they’re fake. | |
| 15:54 | If you land on the fake fundraising website, they’re fake. | |
| 15:57 | Right? —That’s right. Yes, there was a fake fundraising website that was really controversial. | |
| 16:04 | What’s the title? “To help me realise my dream, send me some money”? | |
| 16:09 | That’s someone who’s trying to hurt me | |
| 16:14 | and make money off me, and it’s fake and… | |
| 16:17 | How do you see what happens from here? From tonight or tomorrow, | |
| 16:21 | or if you’ll go to high school, back to school? —I really don’t know. | |
| 16:25 | No? Jean Michel Blanquer, the minister, says | |
| 16:28 | He wants to help you. —Yes, of course, and I know that | |
| 16:32 | the national education system is really doing its utmost to | |
| 16:35 | help me find a school where I’ll be safe, but it’s not easy to find that now, | |
| 16:40 | So I don’t know what the next step will be. | |
| 16:44 | Does that mean perhaps you’ll have to move? —I don’t know. | |
| 16:48 | Your parents, how did they experience this story? | |
| 16:51 | My parents, I won’t really speak for them on this subject, | |
| 16:55 | but all I can say is that they supported me enormously. | |
| 16:59 | Whether it was with the complaints or for my own good, | |
| 17:04 | for my well-being, they made me feel that, I always felt good. | |
| 17:09 | It’s not easy to be good in this situation, so I can’t really answer | |
| 17:14 | that question exactly. —This whole thing has | |
| 17:18 | turned your life upside down and I imagine it changed you. In what way? | |
| 17:22 | This incident has made me much more interested in the world | |
| 17:26 | around me because… —In the real world? —Yes, the real world. I’ve always been occupied with | |
| 17:30 | my social networks, my teenage concerns, and I’ve always lived a little bit in a bubble. | |
| 17:34 | Now, I’m a little more interested in politics. | |
| 17:38 | A little more interested in what’s going on in the media. I’ve learned a lot. | |
| 17:42 | Did you want to add something Mila, there’s still time. | |
| 17:47 | I want to make it clear, just to get back to the subject | |
| 17:51 | or the fact that I absolutely don’t regret what I said. It was really what I thought. | |
| 17:55 | You don’t regret using your right to blasphemy. —Yes, the right to blasphemy. | |
| 17:59 | I shouldn’t have to hide for that reason or stop living because of it. | |
| 18:03 | I would like to say that I apologize a bit to people I’ve hurt, | |
| 18:09 | those who practice their religion in peace, and I never | |
| 18:15 | wanted to target human beings. I simply wanted to blaspheme; | |
| 18:18 | I wanted to talk about a religion, to say | |
| 18:21 | what I thought of it, and that’s it. —Thank you, Mila. —Thank you. |
France has gone so far downhill in just a few decades it’s unrecognizable. This situation is so pathetic. The most cultured country in the world opened its gates to the most barbarous civilization.
I think the barbarians will win.
With the men de-balled and the women sans-balls it’s a catch-23. European countries are nations and can conclude definitely and without a doubt that enough is enough.
All due respect but quite an exaggeration that France is the most cultured country in the world. Arrogant without reason yes, cultured….nope.
Macron and his Islam loving friends going back decades eventually create the Mila’s of the world. Then they feign being shocked when a Mila objects to their nefarious destruction of their country.
” I would like to say that I apologize a bit to people I’ve hurt, those who practice their religion in peace, and I never wanted to target human beings”
No reason to apologize. They are like mad dogs infected by rabies and they should be treated accordingly. If you apologize they get more mad.
It’s almost as if young teenagers are not yet capable of exercising good judgement. This is a new discovery. A condition not previously known. Must be due to climate change. Yes, that’s it. Climate change.
I thought it was all Putin’s fault!
Of course not, everyone knows that everything is Trump’s fault!
not a single gay rights activist has come to her defense. gays rights is about advancing a communist political agenda not anybody’s rights. why is it that gay people never ask the gay rights leaders what kind of rights they will have in a leftist country.
Can’t see a thing wrong in what this girl did. These guys aggressively targeted her in Allah’s name. And she responded that she didn’t care two hoots about Allah. What’s wrong with that? I also don’t care two hoots about Allah, and would love to put a finger (or more) up Allah’s and up his pedophile prophet’s [fundaments]. So? I’m Hindu, and I think Mohammed was the opposite of a “good man”. He was a vile pedophile rapist murderer. How can anyone respect him? Islam is evil, it is horrible. It needs to be wiped off the face of this earth. It is against all norms of human decency.
JESUISMILA!!! (that’s the only french I know, I’m afraid :-)).